JC Plaza

The JC Mandarin Hotel, a five-star landmark built in 1990, once defined the skyline of Shanghai’s West Nanjing Road. Following its acquisition by Baohua Group in 2012, a comprehensive market analysis highlighted the need to transform the hotel into a mixed-use hub. The conversion into Grade A office space and premier retail presented design challenges, including low floor heights and limited parking. Moreover, the building’s original setback contributed to a fragmented pedestrian system, restricted public spaces, and a disconnected streetscape.

To address design challenges, the project combined structural reconfiguration and basement expansion, reducing the building from 30 to 21 floors, increasing floor heights from 3.2 to 4.5 meters, and reconfiguring V-shaped floor plates into a more efficient pentagonal layout. The team expanded the basement to four levels and restructured the podium to improve the pedestrian experience and create a more accessible and transparent ground-level space. The façade design preserved the building’s original form while integrating modern elements to achieve a balanced, refreshed identity.

Through adaptive reuse and strategic reprogramming, JC Plaza has been transformed into a dynamic urban destination, integrating high-end offices, luxury retail, cultural experiences, and leisure amenities. The project exemplifies how resilient design can transform buildings to meet evolving market needs, providing valuable insights for future urban regeneration. Key interventions, such as expanded ground-level space and improved pedestrian connectivity, have reintegrated the building into the urban fabric, enhancing the quality of one of Shanghai’s key retail corridors.